Change Creek Falls

Observant passengers driving west along Interstate 90 just east of Twin Falls State Park may notice a brief glimpse of a significant waterfall along Change Creek above the old railroad bridge spanning the creek. The bridge, now part of the Iron Horse Trail, unfortunately does not offer up any such views of the falls and in result few people are actively aware of their existence. What is being missed out on is surprisingly significant - a multi-stepped waterfall dropping about 360 feet in nine distinct tiers ranging from 9 to 96 feet in height. But as hinted at by the lack of views from the Iron Horse Trail, it isn't at all easy to view the falls, or even just parts of it, and that has kept it from achieving greater notoriety. The canyon of Change Creek is formed by a huge cliff looming 400 or more feet above the creek on the east side, and steep thickly forested slopes on the other which don't lend well to navigation, and this ultimately makes visiting the falls difficult at best. The nine drops which make up the falls start off with tightly grouped back-to-back horsetails dropping 29 and 40 feet respectively into a large log jam. Next up is a plunge of 59 feet followed by a dome shaped cascade of 48 feet, neither of which are easily viewed from the ground due to the steep terrain in the area. This then leads into the largest drop, a horsetail which impacts several angular ledges as it falls and veils outwards for 96 feet. Immediately below is a cascade of 10 feet, followed by a 39 foot plunge-to-horsetail drop over a small undercut cliff, and then the final two drops of 9 and 28 feet which occur back-to-back at the very bottom of the canyon and cannot be seen in conjunction with any of the upper tiers.